Building record 0212802000 - GRANGE FARMHOUSE, WIDMER END

GRADE II. HOUSE, NOW DERELICT. C15-EARLY C16, ALTERED C17 & C19. SOME TIMBER FRAMING WITH BRICK INFILL TO UPPER STOREY, REMAINDER REBUILT IN BRICK. FLINT AND BRICK C19 EXTENSION TO LEFT. OLD TILE ROOF, BRICK CHIMNEY BETWEEN RIGHT BAYS. 2 STOREYS, 3 BAYS IN ALL. LEADED AND WOODEN CASEMENTS, ALL BOARDED UP. BOARDED LOBBY ENTRY. SMALL SINGLE STOREY C20 BRICK EXTENSION TO LEFT. RIGHT BAY HAS COLLAPSED LEAVING ONE BLADE OF A CRUCK TRUSS IN REAR RIGHT CORNER, AND EXPOSING CENTRAL CRUCK. ANOTHER CRUCK TRUSS IN WALL BETWEEN LEFT BAYS. ALL CRUCK BLADES TERMINATE JUST ABOVE THE COLLAR (B5).
ELEMENTS OF BOTH CRUCK & BOX FRAME CONSTRUCTION: 3 CRUCKS, TERMINATING ABOVE COLLAR WITH NO RIDGE-PIECE. [Detailed description, plans and photos] (B2, B9).
Buildings report held at NMR (B8).
Historic building recording and sampling for dendro-dating carried out on 8th February 1989 suggested that although now a tall two-bayed cruck house with later extensions, originally, it probably had additional structures at both ends (subject of differing interpretations). Truss 3 is heavily weathered on the north side, but the south face of Truss 1 is smooth and unweathered, interpreted by Johnson and Fenley (B2) as implying the presence of an additional bay beyond it. However, Mercer and Pearson (B8) demonstrated that the house must have extended northward of Truss 3 from the evidence of mortices for windbraces on the north face of Truss 3, and the presence at the same truss of a short section of purlin relating to the missing bay. This evidence is reinforced by the fact that bay 2 had the remains of what appeared to be an original floor and so could not have been an open hall. Although bay 2 had collapsed by 1989, the previous recorders noted that substantial sooting seems to be confined to bay 3. The smoothness of part of the south face of Truss 1 must result from the protection of a further bay or (more probably) a lean-to beyond it. A lean-to still survives in part, and the upper parts of Truss 1 are heavily weathered on the south face above its roof level. The weathered north face of Truss 3 indicates that bay IV was removed relatively early, leaving this truss exposed for a century or more before the present eighteenth-nineteenth century flint and brick extension was built on its site. The most likely plan is therefore a chamber and solar over in bay 2, with a lean-to beyond it, an open hall in bay 3 and a service room in bay 4. At some time during the sixteenth or early seventeenth century, the northern bay (bay 4) was demolished. Subsequently, perhaps as late as the early eighteenth century, a chimney stack was inserted just within bay 3, and the rest of this bay floored over. Later in the eighteenth or early nineteenth century, a two-storied brick and flint extension was built on the site of bay 4, but to a reduced width. Later still, a single story extension was added beyond it. The house was in a poor structural state when it was acquired by Wycombe District Council and thereafter progressively deteriorated to such an extent that Truss 1, bay 2, and the southern lean-to had collapsed by 1987. Two recent attempts at restoration of the property have both been interrupted and the house remained an empty shell in February 1989.
Six samples were obtained through coring and three samples from offcuts were taken on 8th February 1989 for dendro-dating, however none of the samples could be matched with reference chronologies. Dates of between 1450 and 1550, and circa 1500 have previously been proposed for the cruck phase; however a date well on in the 16th century is suggested by the dendro-dates obtained for other tall type ‘W’ crucks (1551-9 for Dragon Farm in Long Crendon, and 1549-60 for Kingsholm, East Hagbourne in Didcot). See report for detail (B10).